City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

15th, 2026 at 630 in Council Chambers. The Honorable Mayor Terry Darcy presiding. We will have our invocation by Pastor Laura Barkley of Grace United Methodist Church at 1718 Avalon Avenue, after which she will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let us pray. God of wisdom and compassion, we gather with gratitude for this community, for those that call it home. We are mindful of the responsibility entrusted to these leaders here who have been called to public service and for those that have called it home forever and for those that have been here for a short time. God, as we gather in this time, we ask that it would be respectful conversation, that it would be a time that we seek to listen to one another, that we'll be mindful that the decisions that are made will affect the lives of those that we have been entrusted into our community. God, we ask that you'd help us to listen well, to have good discernment, and to remember our responsibility to care for all of those who call Joliet their home. God be with us this night. May it reflect your glory here on earth. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy? Here. Councilman Cardenas is absent. He did let me know he would not be in attendance this evening. Councilman Clement?

Here.

Councilman Hugg? Here. Councilwoman Ibarra? Here. Councilman Moreno?

Here.

Councilman Mudren? Here. Councilwoman Quillman? Here. Councilwoman Reardon? Here. Under Mayor are two proclamations. First is a proclamation recognizing Constitution Week presented by Councilman Mudren.

Whereas the Constitution of the United States of America, the guardian of our liberties and bodies, the principles of limited government in a republic dedicated to rule by law, and whereas September December 15th, 2026 marks the 239th anniversary of the framing of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention. And whereas it is fitting and proper, according to officials recognized in the magnificent document and its memorial anniversary and the Patriot celebration, will it communicate it and Whereas, Public Law 915 guarantees the issuing of the proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America, designating September 17th through the 23rd as Constitutional Week. Now, whereas I, Terry Darcy, Mayor of the City of Joliet, Illinois, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclamate the week of September 16th through September 23rd as Constitutional Week in Joliet and ask our citizens to reframe the ideals of the... Framers of the Constitution add in 1787, by visually protecting the freedom granted to us through the guardian of our liberties. The date is September 15, 2026, signed by Terry Darcy, the mayor.

Good evening, Mayor Darcy and members of the board of Joliet. Thank you for allowing us to come before you this evening to receive the proclamation to promote Constitution Week from September 17 through the 23rd in your city of Joliet. I'm Pat Decker, and this is my friend and colleague, Pauline Herpe. We're from the Louis Joliet chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution. And the purpose of the mission of the Daughters of the American Revolution is to perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence in 1776, 250 years ago. To that end, we promote the education of the Constitution in our schools, libraries, and city halls. As Abraham Lincoln said at the end of the Civil War, our safety, our liberty depends on preserving the Constitution of the United States, as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution. And I would like, Pauline is going to share with you some of the items we present to the local schools for the students who are studying the Constitution.

The public schools teach the Constitution in the eighth grade. St. Raymond's Catholic School, some of you may know of them, you haven't heard of them yet, they study it in seventh grade. to the school in late January, early February to promote the Constitution. And we give out these little bags with Constitution goodies in them. Now, we try to plan it right before their exam, their Constitution exam. So we give them a US Constitution booklet that has the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in it, and some questions and answers about the Constitution. They should look at that. And also, some interesting points about some of our forefathers and our founding fathers and founding mothers, the history of them. There's also a bookmark that we include with important dates that go back to 1607, Jamestown. Remember when we studied that? And then so we have the American flag. Altogether, thank you. Altogether, I think we have six things in here. We have a patriotic pen. And we have a patriotic puzzle for them to fill out. This is all before the exam, so they really need to pay attention to this. It's a fill-in-the-blank kind of thing. Yeah. Fun. It's fun. It's a fun thing. And then, last but not least, we have The Liberty Bell. So this is what the DAR does for our students to help them with their Constitution exam and to promote not only the Constitution, but also the Declaration of Independence and American history and the importance of it. Very good. Thank you so much, Pat. good yes thank you would you like to move yes thank you

Next is a proclamation for a nonviolent city presented by councilman Abara

I just want to say before we get started, this is very important to me every year, and I want to say why. My sister-in-law was stabbed to death at her hair salon over 22 years ago, and it's taken me 20 years to even talk about it without completely breaking down. So nonviolence is very important to me and my family, as is peace. So I want to thank you for all that you do, and I'm going to read the proclamation. Proclamation. Whereas many concerned citizens of Joliet are committed to foster a culture of peace and nonviolence through education, sustainable economic and social development, a clean environment, and justice for all, and Whereas such citizens of Joliet desire to promote human rights, advance understanding, tolerance, and solidarity, and therefore support participation, communication, and the free flow of information. And whereas such citizens and many community leaders, civic and faith organizations, and political leaders of Joliet are committed to creating and implementing innovatives that create positive and lasting change in our community, whereas the City of Joliet encourages individuals, programs, and organizations committed to ending violence, poverty, injustice, and environmental degradation to communicate and collaborate. Now, therefore, I Terry Darcy mayor of the city of Joliet on behalf of the Joliet city council do hereby urge all citizens to join me in proclaiming that Joliet is a nonviolent city and in support of the United nations resolution declaring September 21st as the international day of peace signed September 15th, 2026 mayor Terry Darcy. Congratulations.

Well, an abundance of appreciation, especially to Susanna. In some ways, I can still feel her pain. And it's been proclaimed a nonviolent city here for three years now. This is the third time, and Susanna was good enough to read it all three times. Sometimes it seems like not much has changed, but we've been busy with community workshops and dialogue in the community, trying to get a sense of what people feel are the most important issues facing us. And I think I could mention a whole lot. Let me just mention the violence of the lack of affordable housing. And what goes along with that is the lack of affordable wages. I think last week there was a lead article in the paper that suggested it takes $30 an hour to afford an apartment in this area. So I think the people, most of the people, are feeling the squeeze, myself included. Thank you very much.

All right.

My steering committee.

Good people.

We still have the peaceful here.

next is the approval of the agenda is there a motion to approve the agenda as written with the following change remove council memo number 465-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow an automobile service station and accessory car wash located at the northeast corner of Route 59 and Theodore Street, ZBA 2026-34, and council memo number 475-26, resolution denying a variation of use to allow a conversion of a single unit residence into a two unit residence, an R3 one and two family residential use, in the R2 single-family residential zoning district located at 540 Bluff Street, ZBA 2026-35.

So moved. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hugg. Aye. Councilman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudron.

Aye.

Councilwoman Coleman. Aye. Councilwoman Reardon. Aye. Mayor Darcy. Aye. Motion carried. Next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. I don't have anybody signed up. Is there anyone who would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? Who's on an agenda item?

It's Kathy Yarthish. You guys know me. About this North, all these North Point, votes that you're gonna be doing tonight you know this stuff was voted on you know for previous City Council people and everything but these votes that are coming now I mean you know how bad the development is getting and everything on people's lives and everything you know you know how many people came here and posed in the data center you know how many people you know keep speaking up and you know the people with the say no to North Point and stop North Point groups going on you know We keep talking and nobody seems to be listening or caring. You know, I mean, where is this traffic supposed to go from North Point? You guys think, oh, just keep going around the Center Point roads. You know, well, my ma's old road, as you know, South Hobo Road, as it's called now, is just four-lane traffic, semi-truck highway. there's still residents that still live out there you know I don't live out there anymore but my old neighbors are still living out there and I don't think they deserve to be facing these trucks rolling up and down the road every day and night and no police out there you know supposed to be 35 miles an hour and 30 miles an hour on that road you know these semi trucks go speeding 50 plus miles an hour down that road Much higher than 35 miles an hour. And there's no police out there, needless to say. But you're looking to put more trucks on the road and more trucks to go down the roads and everything. I don't understand why Center Point and these North Point trucks can't go down Switzer Road and then get to that Hobo Ridge. You know, why was it said years back when, you know, I remember when Jeremy Gray was with Centerpoint and everything, he said that, quote, that a road would not be a truck route. Well, what a big lie. It ended up being made into the four-lane semi-truck highway for their bridge. And I don't know how you guys sit here and keep allowing this. And we're just fed up with it. We're fed up with the lies and that. And we're just fed up that these companies get to come in and keep on doing stuff and destroying everybody's lives. You know how bad my life has gotten. And I ain't got no solution for my life. Only one solution, and that's death.

Is there anyone else who would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? OK, seeing none. Under appointments, the mayor is recommending Brian Fruits Esparza be appointed to the Joliet Arts Commission, replacing Julia Rosati. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Verdon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy?

Aye.

Motion carried. The mayor is recommending Antoine Edwards be appointed to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, replacing Natalie Coleman. Is there a motion to approve? So moved.

Second. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudron?

Aye.

Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Rudin? Aye. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Councilman Hug? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. The mayor is recommending Pat Strosha be reappointed to the Police Pension Board. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second.

Sorry.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudron? Aye. Councilman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Vernon? Aye. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next is Mayor Pro Tem. Is there a motion to appoint Council McCartaness to serve as Mayor Pro Tem for the term October 1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2026?

See what happens when you don't show up to a meeting? So moved. So moved. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman?

Oh, aye.

Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg?

Caesar, you have my support. Aye.

Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next, our Council Committee Reports. We'll start with Finance.

The finance committee met here in the chambers at 5.30. On the committee is Councilwoman Reardon and Councilman Hugg. We have a number of items on that agenda, starting with a resolution accepting the grants from the Illinois Art Commission in the amount of $2,500. We reviewed the group health, dental, and life renewal. There's 120 non-union employees, 745 union employees, and 745 retirees on the plan. The renewal builds the cost savings and measures put into place the last couple years. New for 2027 is an addition of a health maintenance organization plan, referred to as HMO, and a high deductible plan for non-union employees. The change in vision provided by VSP, Vision Service Plan, from IMED. This was all done with a four-year rate guarantee and a cost savings. Selection of these plans is voluntary. New for retirees, in addition to the group Medicare Advantage plan that will include dental for those over 65. Retirees will be placed in the new plan by default and will have the option to opt out and remain in the current plan. The renewal was an increase of 7%. for fixed costs and 7.65 overall for the amount of expected claims. This will all be reviewed in detail during the meeting. Renewal of property and liability and working with compensation services. Renewal was 1.91 increase, less than 2% obviously. contributing factors include continued liability claims exposures increased drone program exposures decrease in building values and a 9.5 rise in workman's compensation payroll exposure budget amendment to fund a settlement in a lawsuit provides necessary amendment to the funds for the city's sri to allow a settlement for the castillo case Monthly financial statements. The general fund total revenues for the budget as expected being less than budgeted. Revenues doing slightly better than budget were video gaming, sales, real estate tax transfer, and income taxes. Revenues trending below are building permits, changes for charges for services and interest income. Sewer and water fund revenues are trending slightly above budget at this time. Parking revenues and expenses are trending according to budget. Julia Public Library report from June through August. They had a total of 93,952 visitors for the quarter that checked out 111,444 items. An additional 25,000 people attended 700 programs. The 2027 budget finance director Kevin Singh gave a high-level overview of the 2027 budget including the process and what the next steps are going to be We are on schedule to be able to adapt October and staff is ready to hold formal one-on-one budgeting meetings with the mayor and council to review the current draft budget and He also thanked the elected officials, city managers, and the department heads for the time they spent on the 2027 budget to this date. Larry, Sherry, that would be my report, unless you'd like to add anything.

No, that's not one. Good, thank you. Thank you.

That's it.

Public service.

Public Service Committee met here yesterday at City Hall in the Council Chambers at 4.30 in the afternoon. Yesterday would have been September 14, 2026. On the committee is Councilwoman Raritan, Councilman Mulder, and myself. Everything that's on the committee agenda was reviewed last night at the pre-council meeting, so I'll go through it quickly. There was only one contract, and that was for $196,000 for a Hutchinson Engineering to do the Route 30 bridge structural inspections for the Third Coast Parkway, North Point, and that $196,000 will be paid by North Point, not by the city. We had three items under change orders, pay estimates, and final payments. One was for $601,000, and that was for the one, two, three punch we got on June 10th, July 3rd, and August 11th, the storms that caused so much damage. That was a total cleanup payment out to six companies. We had so much that our staff couldn't do it all by themselves. They were working around the clock, basically, working overtime. and we had to bring in the other companies as we often and always do when we have bad storms. We looked at a $50,000 amendment to a professional engineering services contract related to the North Point development plan, and again, that $50,000 additional will be paid by North Point, not by the city. Then we looked at a change order for the electrical maintenance assistance contract to meet electric company, and that was an amount of about $38,000 Long and the short of it is, in some areas where we had done some work with the water and sewer department, they had the old-fashioned sensors. We call them old-fashioned now. Sensors in the pavement. And over the years, you replace them. It's very time-consuming, and it's not very reliable necessarily. And we're going to the video cameras. at the stoplights throughout the city. So this was an increase so that once the sewer and water department finished their project, the public works department could go back in and repave that and then would not be putting in any of the extra money because the video systems cost more than the sensor systems. Under Ordinance and Resolutions, we had two items. One was a letter of understanding on the I-80 project between the state of Illinois and the city of Joliet as it pertains to certain right-of-ways for that project from Gardner Street to Gardner Road. And we had an easement agreement with Commonwealth Edison Company allowing them to go across city-owned property with their lines or services. And we looked at an application for a drive-thru permit for a place that I had never heard of, and I'm going to check it out, called Savvy Sliders Restaurant. And that's in the Boulevard Place, the new Cullinan Project out there, a collection out by 1855. We looked at all these items. We discussed them. We found them all to be in order. And we unanimously approved recommendation to the full council on all these items. And that's my report, unless I missed something, folks. Thank you. Okay, Mayor, that's it. Thank you.

I show no other reports. Under consent agenda, approval of minutes. It is recommended the minutes of the pre-council meeting August 31st, 2026 and the city council meeting held on September 1st, 2026 stand approved as recorded. Invoices to be paid. It is recommended this report be approved. Council memo number 454-26, approval of agreement for professional services with Hutchinson Engineering Incorporated for phase three structural inspection services for the Third Coast Parkway over Illinois Route 53 bridge, SN 099-6481 in the amount of $196,000. Council amendment number 455-26, approval of payments for emergency contractor tree and brush removal for the June 10th, July 3rd, and August 11th, 2026 storm events in the amount of $601,471.25. Council amendment number 456-26, approval of amendment number two for professional engineering services related to the North Point Development Plan review to Hutchinson Engineering Incorporated in the amount of $50,000. Council memo number 457-26, approval of change order number four for the 2024 electrical maintenance assistance contract to meet Electric Company Incorporated in the amount of $37,710.90 and payment request numbers nine through 18 in the total amount of $37,710.90. It is recommended council memos 454-26 through 457-26 be approved. Is there a motion to approve all said consent agenda items? So moved. Second. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? No. Councilman Marino?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under agenda items, council memo number 459-26, approval of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance renewal for active and retiree employees. It is recommended council memo number 459-26 be approved.

So moved. Second.

So I think it's everyone has seen or anybody was at the pre-council meeting Liz gave a Overview explanation. I'd like her to do it again if she would please I

Elizabeth Abrego director of human resources the renewal for Blue Cross Blue Shield is So we have Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO PPO and HDHP We provide a self-funded plan for active employees including pre 65 and post 65 retirees The group plan includes health, dental, vision, and life insurance and covers roughly 120 non-union employees, 725 union employees, and 745 retirees. Benefits for non-union employees are governed by the ordinance while union employees are governed by collective bargaining agreements The recommendation is to renew Blue Cross Blue Shield at approximately a 7% increase Any questions we do have Marsh here if there's any questions, which is our provider our broker

If there's no other questions, I'd like to congratulate staff, Elizabeth and everything she did in working with the March team. Her staff, as well as everybody else in the city that worked on this, this has been something that's been going on since approximately June of this year to try to bring in more plans that the Employees had asked for and tried to get the pricing down as much as possible In times that we're seeing a lot closer to a 20% Renewal increase. So thank you very much for your hard work. We appreciate it.

Of course Thank you

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 460-26, approval of property, liability, and workers' compensation insurance renewal. It is recommended that Council memo number 460-26 be approved.

So moved. Second. Any comments or questions?

Mayor, correct me if I'm wrong. Kevin, this is basically a 1% increase year over year.

or actually It loses when it worked on this.

Yeah, it's 1% year-over-year and we added cyber Coverage as well, correct?

Correct.

So that's that's a good you know in the market I think the other two insurance agents up can tell you a 1% increase isn't much so It's not a bad.

No good thing deal Anyone else, thank you

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Mayor Darcy?

Aye.

Motion carried. Under license and permit applications, council memo number 462-26, an application for a drive-through permit for Savvy Slider's Restaurant at 16301 Boulevard Place, Unit 101. It is recommended council memo number 462-26 be approved.

I'll make a Savvy motion to approve.

Second. Any comments or questions?

Yeah, I just want to say after the last Hawaiian Brothers that we approve Savvy Sliders is chicken slider sandwiches, and they're supposed to be very good.

They also have fish and beef. Not that I looked.

Should we be voting on this if they don't bring samples up here? No. Probably not.

No, I think let's table this one until we get some samples.

Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy?

Aye.

Motion carried. Under ordinances, Council Memo number 463-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow box truck parking as an accessory use located at 1395 North Larkin Avenue, ZBA 2026-32. It is recommended said ordinance be adopted.

So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Councilman Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 464 dash 26 ordinance approving a special use permit to allow a semi-trailer sales service and repair facility Located at 1720 workers court DBA 2026 dash 33. It is recommended said ordinance be adopted So well Any comments or questions?

I do have a comics. This is district 5. So it's my district they I at all sides worked with the community to make this happen. So it wasn't something that I was going to immediately say yes to. In fact, I was going to say no. But some of the very key people within the south and southeast side of this district worked with the developer and the owner Make sure it was something that they could agree to and they were okay with it So I want to thank once again, Megan Cooper and Margie Stephen for working together with mr Koenig and some of the others involved to come to an agreement that everyone Was happy with so, thank you

Anybody else? Thanks.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Marino?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council amendment number 466-26 ordinances associated with third coast intermodal hub 2a subdivision ordinance approving the preliminary plat of third coast intermodal hub 2a subdivision p-7-26 ordinance approving the final plat of third coast intermodal hub 2a-unit 1 subdivision fp-2-26 ordinance approving the recording plat of third coast intermodal hub 2a-unit 1 subdivision rp-11-26 it is recommended that ordinance be adopted

Second. Any comments or questions?

I think we should be clear on this, just so some of the neighbors are aware of it. There will be the ability for them to get permit to construct once the bridges are in play and working, but there won't be any occupancy until the bridges are done and so that those trucks would never have a chance to get on 53. So I don't see the buildings being constructed on a real quick basis until everything's pretty much ready to go. I look at that as maybe they start to pre-lease some of the buildings and then they might start to do that. But that looks to me like the function of this part of this renewed annexation agreement that we worked on last year. So just to make that clear. Any other comments? Thank you.

It's a motion to second it to approve. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Barra? No. Councilman Marino? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried.

Mayor? Yeah. I want to go back. I made a mistake here. It's 465. I want to reverse my vote to no. Oh, okay. I made two mistakes now.

I know. I thought about it as well. I asked him, like, did we skip that? He said, no, it was pulled.

I think I need more sleep. I'm like, I thought we were talking about a box.

You were thinking about those wonderful chicken sandwiches.

All right. You know what? We're good. Good work.

Okay.

Thank you. I was just testing you. Okay. Lauren.

All right, moving on. Council memo number 468-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow development of lots within the Cedar Creek watershed protection area located east and west of the Union Pacific Railroad and south of Millsdale Road, M-3-26. It is recommended said ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Any comments or questions?

Yeah, just real quick, I want to clarify. Now, we have an ordinance that's somewhat restrictive and it's protecting the watershed, right? But it also meets any IEPA or anything else as well, correct? Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you.

It's a motion seconded to approve. Councilwoman Coleman? Councilman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Monebarra? No. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudron? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 469-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow development of a lot within the Cedar Creek Watershed Protection Area located east of Illinois Route 53 and north of Breen Road, M-4-26. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

Motion to approve. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Reardon?

Aye.

Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? No. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Mayor Darcy?

Aye.

Motion carried. Council Member 470-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow development of a lot within the Jackson Creek Watershed Protection Area, located east of Illinois Route 53 and south of Knoll Road, M-5-26, as is recommended, said ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hugg. Aye. Councilman Navarro. No. Councilman Marino. Aye. Councilman Mudren.

Aye.

Councilman Quillman. Aye. Councilman Reardon. Aye. Mayor Darcy. Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember 471-26, ordinance amending the 2026 annual budget for the city of Joliet to authorize funding for the settlement of Castillo versus the city of Joliet, 24LA478. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second.

Any comments or questions? Mayor, I wanted to clarify something. There was some confusion after last night's meeting. Some media reported city paying out $12.5 million, which was misleading. We're paying a million, and we're approving this million to move it to the fund, and the rest is being paid by our insurance company. I just wanted to clarify that. Thank you.

Mayor, I do want to offer my condolences to the family. I feel terrible about this situation, and I do want to say how sorry I am for this.

Thank you.

Mayor? I just piggyback on what Susanna said. I've been through something like that when I was an officer a year and a half on the job. And there are a lot of people involved. And same with this case. I just want to say how sorry I am for all parties involved in this tragic event. Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman McQuillman?

Condolences to the family, of course. I'll vote aye.

Councilman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under resolutions, Council Amendment 473-26, resolutions associated with right-of-way dedications to allow construction of the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge. Resolution approving dedication of approximately 11.1 acres of land as public right-of-way south of Millsdale Road and west of the Union Pacific Railroad, D-1-26. Resolution approving dedication of approximately 8.1 acres of land as public right-of-way south of Millsdale Road and east of the Union Pacific Railroad D-2-26. It is recommended that a resolution be adopted.

So move. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Ibarra? No. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudron? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council Member 474-26, resolution approving dedication of approximately 4.3 acres of land as public right-of-way west of Illinois Route 53, D-3-26. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Council Member Moreno?

Aye.

Council Member Mudren? Aye. Council Member Coleman? Aye. Council Member Reardon? Aye. Council Member Clement? Aye. Council Member Hugg? Aye. Council Member Navarro? No. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council member number 476-26, resolution authorizing execution of a letter of understanding, LU-126-024 for FAI 80, Interstate 80, I-80 between the state of Illinois and the city of Joliet, Gardner Street to Galgrave Road, contract 62X37. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's my motion to second and to approve. Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Verdon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Mayor Darcy?

Aye.

Motion carried. Councilmember number 477-26, resolution accepting a general operating support grant from the Illinois Arts Council for the 2027 grant fiscal year. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second.

Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman McQuillman? Aye. Councilman Burden? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 478-26, resolution approving an easement agreement with Commonwealth Edison Company, ComEd, for utility facilities across city-owned property, PIN 09-01-400-007. It is recommended that a resolution be adopted.

Move to approve.

Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's a motion to second it to approve. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman Quillman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next is the City Manager's Report.

OK. We had a really special afternoon on Thursday, September 3, as we officially swore in Treece Brown. It was wonderful to see so many people there to support him, his wife Tia, and their children, and to celebrate that moment with many members, past and present, of the Joliet Police Department. Chief, congratulations again. We're very happy to have you officially in the role and look forward to what's ahead. Very excited to have you. Mexican Independence Day celebrations. We had a great weekend celebrating Mexican Independence Day here in Joliet. I want to note that the picture of the little person and I is Juan's daughter. adorable in her dress. You guys were matching. We were matching, yeah. It was so fun, beginning with the parade along Collins Street on Saturday and continuing with the fiesta in La Plaza on Sunday. It was great to see Collins Street and the city square filled with families, music, and so many people coming together to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Thank you to councilman Cardenas the parade organizers participants volunteers city staff and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make the weekend such a success and Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate. It was a great showing of community and a really fun weekend for Joliet So I have for tonight Next is anyone who would like to address the council on a non agenda item.

I do have one person signed up Ashley Bester and

Good evening. Actually, Allison's update that she gave last night inspired me to come and share my personal experience. In 1937, federal housing maps were created by the Home Owners Loan Corporation that graded neighborhoods by mortgage risk and labeled black communities as hazardous in Joliet. The west side was rated as best or more desirable by appraisers, while the east and southeast side was rated as declining or hazardous while explicitly marking areas with black residents, such as near downtown, as detrimental influence. The construction of Interstate 80 in the 50s and 60s was intentionally planned to cut through these neighborhoods that managed to thrive despite efforts to oppress and displace thriving black-owned business districts on Chicago and college streets. Now, by 1968, these practices were deemed illegal, but the system was already in place and operating as planned. My grandmother moved to Joliet during these years and worked tirelessly to purchase her home on the east side. Additionally, her children bootstrapped themselves and also purchased properties throughout the east and southeast side of Joliet. Now in their twilight years, having lived through the systemic discrimination in this town, They now must navigate the environmental racism in the forms of endless 18-wheeler traffic, and with it the noise and air pollution, inoperable bridges, ridiculously planned highway and street construction, impending data centers, dilapidated infrastructure, and questionable water quality. Now by this council's own admission, you had no idea how bad our water situation was, but you vowed to come up with solutions. What we actually received was performance and apathy. We were instructed to use public showers and be grateful that we weren't sold to private entities. Some of our private phone numbers were passed around City Hall for weeks, an effort to quiet the cries of an emotional mother who was unable to bathe her baby in her newly constructed home that was built on an infrastructure that both the county and city knew was failing, or the shared frustrations of some 800 residents in the southeast district about our consistent water main breaks and service interruptions with no reliable communication. Now, I often joke that Joliet feels like it's being run by a bitter ex, and the southeast side is that step kid no one really cared for, so cruelty is the point. As a Preston Heights resident, I want to be sure to thank the anonymous donor from the neighboring state for your generosity and water donations. I want to reassure you that we, the affected residents, have been good stewards of your gift and advocated for ourselves to ensure that this finite resource wasn't mishandled or freely handed out. Now to the council, I understand your apathy. You all were voted into your respective positions by mere hundreds of votes because while Joliet is home to more than 390,000 registered voters, less than 18% of that actually exercise their right in voting local elections. So you really have no incentive to care about how your policies impact our neighborhoods. So while I'd much rather spend my Tuesday evening at Bingo, I'm compelled to be here and stand in the gap for my family and my neighbors who are too tired, too disheartened, and too hopeless to speak for themselves. I refuse to be silent because in the words of one of my personal heroes, Zora Neale Hurston, if you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it. Thank you.

Is there anyone who would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item?

Good evening. I don't want to speak behind my counterpart. But good evening to the council, to Mayor Darcy. Again, my name is Crystal Adams. I am a resident of Joliet. However, I am in the Preston Heights area. First, I wanna acknowledge and thank the city for the work that is finally being done to address the aging water infrastructure in our community. We appreciate the crews responding to these breaks. There's been 33 of them so far this year. the water that has been distributed, and the water main replacement project that is now underway. But tonight, I do need to be honest. We have been working with the city, and we are not surprised by the city's decision, but I am deeply concerned about the city's response to residents who are repeatedly losing access to running water. So far, we've been passed out five-gallon containers, in a few cases of bottled water, which may help temporarily, but that cannot be the city's entire emergency response to a reoccurring infrastructure crisis. We have residents who purchased what they believe were new construction homes, i.e. myself, only to discover that they were connected to old deteriorating water infrastructure. These homeowners did not create this problem. Many residents did not know the condition of the water system when they purchased their homes. My biggest concern was did the city of Joliet know that? And now we are being asked to repeatedly adjust our lives around water main breaks, extended outages, emergency repairs, and uncertainty about when the water will be restored. At some point, the city of Joliet has to take accountability for the infrastructure it now owns and operates. I understand that this system existed before the city took ownership. However, residents should not have to carry the consequences of their history without a comprehensive plan to protect them while the system is being repaired. This is much bigger than a bottle of water, guys. When a family loses water for 12, 18, 24 hours or longer, they need more than drinking water. They need to flush their toilets. Yes, you guys gave us a little pamphlet on how to do that manually with a bucket that we had to purchase. We also need to wash our hands. We need to bathe. We need to clean our homes. We need to care for our children, our seniors, and people with disabilities. And when these outages happen repeatedly, residents need to know that there is a dependable emergency response waiting for them. We have suggested emergency water distribution, bulk water access for non-potable needs. mobile hygiene resources, assistance when outages cause property damage, and better communication. We were told that some of these options are just not practical. If that is the city's position, then I am asking a very simple question. What is the city's alternative? Because telling residents that certain solutions are too expensive, too complicated, or too difficult does not eliminate the problem residents are experiencing. We also need better communication. When residents receive a text message saying that there is a water outage, we need an actual time frame associated with that. Let me see you guys. It skipped a little bit. Second thing is we want a clear construction timeline, planned water shut off, estimated completion dates. and regular updates when those timelines change. Third, a comprehensive emergency response plan. Five gallon containers and bottled water should not be emergency supplies, and it's not the definition of the city's response to a reoccurring water infrastructure crisis. We are grateful that the city is finally investing Preston Heights Joliet area, but we also need the city to invest in the residents who have been living through this We are not asking you to fix decades of infrastructure problems overnight But we are asking you to recognize the urgency of what residents are experiencing today and respond with the same level of urgency Thank you Is there anyone else would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item I

Good evening. My name is Judy Easley. I'm president of the Joliet branch of the NAACP. And after looking at the presentation on the parade, I'm just wondering why the Black Joy parade wasn't mentioned at all. Thank you.

can i respond to that yeah we actually talked about it two weeks ago was a huge presentation we went through pictures we went through the same kind of thing that we went through for the mexican independence day parade but that happened closer to last meeting so it happened at last last week it was a it was the last meeting i mean it was different dates way different dates they were about a month apart I can send you that video, though. I'll send it to you. Thank you, Susan. Yeah.

Is there anyone else who would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item? OK.

Good evening, mayor and council members. It's been a while since I've been up here. And I'm here tonight to update you on some of the latest happenings in our community. On May 1st, Luff's contractors destroyed four mature trees, damaged my fence, and tore up drainage on my property with excavators. That damage has left my home vulnerable. Under Joliet Code Section 8-466, tree preservation and landscaping, and Section 8-124, unlawful damage to property. Those trees must be replaced before a permanent certificate of occupancy is issued. Furthermore, per Joliet Code Section 8-403, LUBS is required to post 125% performance bond. To date, I am not sure if that has happened. We are currently working with LAWS. Mr. Steve Walters requested estimates three weeks ago. We have been working with the fence contractor as well as securing a tract-certified arborist report and a tree replacement company. Because of recent storm damage across the area, the bookings are five to six weeks out. We will provide them to the city and to LUVs as soon as we receive them. In the meantime, safety issues continue with LUVs operates. Emergency vehicle access. Side operations and heavy traffic continue to obstruct clear access along New Lenox Road and Oakview Avenue. Blocking or delaying fire engines and ambulances from reaching adjacent homes is a direct violation of international fire code section 503. september 7th which was sunday a truck entering the ingress driveway hit a telephone pole head-on in the middle of the driveway bam heard it everywhere everything went flying power lines. It was crazy, crazy. I have a bidding of the incident if you want to watch it. It is worth watching. It is just amazing what happened. Overnight parking, trucks have been parked overnight on Oakview Avenue, and police have been called multiple times. Traffic hazards. At one point, 18 buses were parked on New Lenox Road, causing chaos while taking a break at Love's Truck Stop. Assistance was requested and never arrived. There was also an incident where a truck parked the wrong way for over 45 minutes, taking over two hours for a response from JPD. Road conditions. There was a large, dangerous, oh, I mean, this hole was huge, at Briggs and New Lenox Road that put trucks at risk of tipping. Thank you to the Public Works Department for getting a quick fix on it, but it is already coming back, and I think they are going to be doing road work on there because Timco and Loves are out there moving stuff around. Visibility and speeding. Now, this is terrible. Visibility is poor. These truckers are trying to come out of that ingrat egress. They can't see. There's no signage. There's no idling signage. You're putting cars and trucks at risk every day. I see accidents almost happen continually. People are on their horns. The trucks are turning out in front of cars. They're not stopping at that ingrat, egress coming out of that section. I'd just like you to know that because there will be an accident there. This is a residential area that needs to be protected from speeding traffic. The trucks go down, barreling down New Lenox Road all day and night. It needs to be, something needs to be done. Berm and fencing, as of last week, Love's contractors are back on site mowing and doing landscaping, but the required berm and fence by Tammy's property is not built up to the plans that were presented. I'm asking the council tonight for two specific actions. Please confirm that no permanent certificate of occupancy will be issued for LUFS until my property damage is restored per code and the required 125% bond is posted. Please direct code enforcement, the fire marshal, and the police chief to address these ongoing traffic and safety issues. We want to resolve this without litigation, but we need the city to enforce its own codes so reticences aren't living next to an open truck stop with unresolved damage and ongoing safety risk. Thank you for your time, and I do have documentation and video evidence ready to provide for you. Thanks again.

Is there anyone else who would like to address the council this evening on an on-agenda item?

I can't believe you guys know who I am. As you know, September 12 of this month, just Saturday, Governor Pritzker's die with dignity law went in effect. And I have repeatedly contacted and emailed the governor wishing to be on that list to be able to die. Because every day it's harder and harder for me to face my life anymore. I tried with realtors. I tried finding places to replace my mom's place. I cannot find a place. I got my brother in prison I gotta care about too. So trying to find a place to me and him can both live, to where he be assembled to live, it's just been impossible to find. And try to find a place where I can afford. and try to find a place that's close enough to here. I don't want to be too far out. I don't want to be far out in the tornado areas, the bad storm areas, which I've been following the weather all my life and know which way the weather patterns go to where the bad weather is. Let alone, I want to get back on my SSI income. With my little income, I've got to try to find a place to live. But I've been told by my realtor that I'm never going to be able to find a place like this. Nowhere equal to my mom's place. I can't even enjoy my items that I got left in my life. I can't even enjoy my John Deere tractor, which I never get to see hardly anymore. I have to go to my friend's place who has my John Deere tractor sitting in his yard. I have to go there to visit it. I want to be able to try my John Deere tractor. I want to be able to touch my John Deere tractor. I want to be able to sit in my John Deere tractor every day and have it at my place like I did when I had my mom's place. I want to be able to go try my 87F250 pickup truck, which I can't do anymore because of this bad cop, John Byrne, having that truck and tearing it apart. which you never should have been allowed to have it. But because you guys allowed the development to come in, whimsy trucking to come in, and you caused all this sorrow on me. I've been attacked, as you would know. I have been attacked by my old best friend, my old neighbor that used to be my best friend. And it hurts so much that I can't even call him anymore. Can't go to his house and visit anymore like I used to every day. And it hurts. I don't have that support every day to be with me, to have somebody hold me, have somebody give me that hug every day. I mean, I got you, Susan Ibarra. You have been, so far, my lifeline that's been keeping me alive. I appreciate everything you do. And people badmouth you. I want to speak up and say, that Susan will borrow in the middle of the night after 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock in the morning and night, you don't hesitate to call me back when I text you or when I need you to call me. You call me and talk to me and I appreciate you so much for everything you do for me. You don't know what it means. And that's why I don't want to move far away because I need to be able to have that loan around me. But trying to find a new place to live that I can afford, it's just impossible. And so because you guys allowed the development to come in, which is why I have contacted Governor Pritzker's office when he made the law about the dynamic dignity to be put in effect. I begged him and put in my emails that I want to be the first one on the list to be executed.

Is there anyone else who would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to mayor and council comments.

First of all, I too would like to congratulate our newly minted police chief. I attended the ceremony and I understand you prepared your own remarks and they were beautiful and inspirational and wow, you should write for a living. Secondly, I want to talk about a, I don't want to call it an event, a ceremony that I attended on September 3rd at Bay Park that was put on by the fire department for, it was called Survivors Recognition Ceremony. And it was led by our fire department battalion chief, Timothy Chaplin. He did a remarkable job. The premise of the evening was they had invited back some of the survivors of calls they had gone to over the year or years. I'm not sure exactly the time frame. And one by one, they gave their specific stories. And these people happen to all have had cardiac arrests. And so they went through all of their stories from the beginning to where they were, how it happened, the family members, the friends, the neighbors, the strangers, that all kept them alive until the fire department arrived. And then the fire department took it from there. And then they got them to the hospital. And then the people in the hospital took it from there. And every one of these people walked out of the hospital whole. It was truly one of the most moving evenings of my life. They brought all of the The firemen that were on the call, they brought the other individuals that were just whomever people, and then the staff from the hospital, and they all came up on stage with the individual survivor. They gave them a plaque saying that they were a survivor. It was truly amazing. It was the first time they've done it. I hope that I get invited to the next one and the next one so that I can celebrate everybody's accomplishments. And I know one of the ladies said that this happened to her in her front yard. She was cutting grass, and she just came from her backyard, and she said, if I had been there, if it had happened 15 minutes earlier, I would have been in Sam's Club. And I told her, she's inspired me to, if I see somebody drop in Sam's Club, no matter if I do it right or wrong, I'm going to do it. So just remember, there's no wrong way. If you see somebody that needs help, start those compressions. So thank you.

Wow. It was amazing.

Wow. Well, I'd like to say a big celebration that we had on the 11th in City Square was phenomenal. We had many, many people attend, and it was quite an emotional ceremony. I wish next year that we could do it and have more people attend. And it was a very, very moving experience, and I'm glad that now we have some place to do that and make it an annual event in downtown Joliet. They're on.

I, too, was with Sherry for both of the chiefs. Chief Brown, congratulations. Chief Carey, your staff, I know you had mentioned you did nothing, but they did a great job, and it was very emotional for everybody there. And as Sherry said, hopefully this will carry on.

That's all I have.

I just want to wish happy early birthday to my wife tomorrow. So happy birthday if you're watching. And also bring some awareness to Construction Suicide Prevention Week as a blue collar worker myself. And that is through September 14th through the 18th. And once again, congrats Chief Brown. And then I spoke to the city manager earlier about our diversity and community relations committee. And I spoke to Councilwoman Ibarra. And we're in agreement that we can try to bring some of these things I'm going to talk about into fruition. But since I typed it out, I'm just going to read it out. I'd like to see us expand some of the conversations we're having in our diversity and community relations committee to include housing and neighborhood rehabilitation. I think there are several issues we should be talking about, including housing protections and resources for renters and landlords, vacant and distressed properties, neighborhood rehabilitation, and ways we can help more Joliet families become homeowners. There these are issues I hear about from residents and they have a direct impact and strength and quality in our neighborhoods Rather than creating another committee. I think we could utilize the committee We already have and bring residents property owners housing organizations Neighborhood groups and city staff together to discuss what is working where we're falling short and what practical solutions the city can consider I'd like to see these topics placed on upcoming diversity and Community Relations Committee agenda so we can begin having the conversation. Thank you

Beth, can I ask, do we have a realistic timeline of the work that's going to be done for the Southeast Side Sanitary District residents?

Sure. Allison, could you please provide an overview?

Yes. So the current project that will add the second feed is going to be completed in the next month. So that's the first phase. the that began construction in july so the second phase we do have funding from the county we're going to be abandoning water main that's on route 53 and adding some additional connections that work we are accelerating to try and construct this year still depending on the receipt of permits that we need also in talking to the county they have found an additional 1 million dollars that they can provide to us in the very near future for a third phase of water main so we're in the process of trying to develop the scope for that project

Okay, so there's nothing more that we can do for them. Like, I just want to be clear. They have asks. The money that is allotted to anything that happens with them, just make sure I understand this correctly. It does have to come from the county. Yes. Because it was a county's aging system under their jurisdiction. I'm trying to get a handle on this.

Yes. Per our intergovernmental agreement with the county, they're to provide the $15 million in funding for improvements over a 10-year period. So what we've been working with the county on is trying to find ways to accelerate receipt of that. Currently, they had been identifying $600,000 per year in CDBG funding. So there's already been a lot done to accelerate the funding and increase that funding from what was originally contemplated.

Thank you. They have other asks, like the showers and who's responsible for going back to the county, I guess, and asking for those things that they're asking for.

Yes, we have been talking to the county. I understand there's a meeting that has been set up with the county to discuss that. Again, the emergency response plan that was prepared by John Lukantic in conjunction with coordination with the county is consistent with what is reasonable for this. And I'll just reiterate what I said last night, that the Water outages that are lasting eight plus hours are not occurring anymore. And with this project being completed in the next month, that will add that second feed that will help alleviate that being a possibility in the future. Okay. All right.

Thank you. So we are in the middle of a grocery store study for the east and southeast side of District 5, and I am very excited about this. And we need everybody in District 5 on the southeast and east side, we need your suggestions, help on a location. The consultant would like me to... collect suggestions from the community in the affected area where you would like to see a grocery store it can be open land it can be a building that's failing or that nothing is there can really be anywhere but it does have to be in district five and it does have to be on the east or southeast side you can email me at s ebara that's s i b a r r a at joliet.gov you can text and call me at 815-351-6381 and i will be deploying the district 5 advisory council members they'll be getting an email from me this weekend so we can start to collect that for the consultant and i want to thank the mayor i want to thank beth and everyone involved i'm very very excited about this so thank you

I just wanted to put on the record, so to speak, at our finance committee meeting, I asked our finance director, Kevin, to start researching consultants that specialize in cost-cutting measures, municipal budgets. We talked about that, and Kevin said he would look into that. I don't think we do enough to cut costs. It's always automatically we're going to expand the budget, and there are even some, my understanding is, some consultants out there that don't get paid if they don't find the cuts. So they work on, if you will, a commission or a performance basis. So you're going to look into that, right, Kevin? So we're going to head in that direction if we can. And other than that, Ron Brown, congratulations, Chief.

Yeah, I'm going to congratulate everybody that had a hand in the Mexican Independence Day Parade. The mayor was there, Councilman Cardenas, Marino, and myself. Beth Beatty and Harley were there, and Ann Sylvester. And I apologize if I missed anybody else, but it was a great event, just like the Joy Parade. We had a great time. Also, the mayor and I attended the Sportsman's for Charity event down in Cole City at Cardinal Transport. This event has been going on for about 23 years. We raised $120,000. The majority of that money, I mean, it goes everywhere, but the majority of it goes to United Cerebral Palsy on Reed Street. And we do have other organizations. But to date, we raised almost $3 million. So big success to that event. And thank you, Mayor, for donating there and being a sponsor. And we had some local companies also, P.T. Farrow and Austin Tyler. And I apologize if I missed anybody else. And last but not least I want to say happy birthday to be tomorrow my daughter Hannah. She's out in Arizona and Tomorrow will be her 28th birthday. So happy birthday to Hannah. So thank you.

Thank you Again, congratulations chief Brown. We're excited to have you lead the team and we know that it's just gonna continue to get better and better and I want to talk a little bit about a few of the things that we did in the last week or so. We officially broke ground on the next phase of Rock Run Collection. We've been talking about the potential of this site for a long time, so it was exciting to finally be out there celebrating the progress as this happens. A lot of people have been working very hard to this point, and I want to thank Cullinan Properties, our city council, and our city staff And all the partners who contributed to believe in this project continue to believe in this project and in Joliet. There's a lot more to come at Rock Run, and we're excited for the residents to see the development as it takes shape. I, too, attended the 9-11 memorial ceremony, along with Jan and some other folks from the city. It was very heartwarming. I want to thank the Police Chiefs Association of Will County, the Will County Fire Chiefs Association for organizing a meaningful ceremony and bringing first responders and community members together from across the county. It was incredible to look out on the sea of uniforms, retirees, their families. These first responders are no different than those that went out 25 years ago when the Twin Towers were hit. They put their life on the line every day without even thinking about it, so we congratulate them and thank them for all their hard work, their efforts, and their courage to serve and protect our cities. There's a lot more stuff coming at us downtown. The second half of September's got a lot of exciting stuff going on, so we want to keep everybody well informed on that. I thank Ann and her team for always keeping us mobile and active. I also want to mention on September 24th, the Rialto opens with the movie Die Hard. They haven't been open in a while, and the doors open at 6.30, the movie's at 7, and it's only $5. That's my report. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless Joliet.

Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Sorry. All in favor? Opposed? Meeting adjourned.